The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and more particularly to systems and methods therefor.
Vehicles often include various systems such as infotainment and navigation systems. These systems are generally provided with a display around which mechanical control elements are arranged to provide a user interface mounted in a dashboard of a vehicle cabin for driver and front passenger access. Alternatively, the display combines at least some of the control elements into a touch panel display.
Conventionally, a vehicle head unit is a hardware interface located in the vehicle dash board and enabling user control of vehicle systems including, but not limited to, the vehicle's entertainment media such as AM/FM radio, satellite radio, CDs, MP3s, video; navigations systems such as GPS navigation; climate controls; communication systems such a cellular phones, text, email; and vehicle control functions such as lights, door chimes, speed control and others. As used herein, the term vehicle head unit refers to such a hardware interface, or to any control module configured to control vehicular systems.
Due to the numerous functions typically available, operation may require a relatively substantial amount of time, e.g. to find the desired mechanical control element or to browse through menus and submenus to access a desired function. Further, the dashboard mount location may limit display size and restrict the functionality thereof.
Although effective, such display and control elements necessarily require the user to be within the vehicle to operate the system and thereby increase total travel time in the vehicle. In particular, the multitude of control options presented to a driver can result in significant distraction from the driver's primary task of safely operating the vehicle. Such driver distraction can lengthen travel times and decrease the safety of the driver and any passengers. Various regulatory agencies may also require lock out of the system to prevent driver interaction when the vehicle is in motion.